Page 8 of Hearts on Ice
Which made her just what he claimed her to be. Self-absorbed.
When she really was just protecting herself.
She didn’t let him say anything else, instead turning toward the lobby, not even wanting to interact with him long enough to unlace her skates.
She drove across town to the motel she was renting by the week, until she could move into her stepdad’s rental at the first of the month. She needed to be as thrifty as possible, and her ex-stepfather was kind enough to help her out.
Clearly Declan had used his share of the endorsement money wisely, leveraging it to make more money. She’d thought she had, too, and had hoped to leverage her commercial appearances and guest appearances on shows into something more lucrative, had hired an agent and manager, but nothing had ever come of it. In fact, she had been the butt of several late night jokes for her amateur performances. Apparently her skills on the ice didn’t transfer to the screen, and, well, her reputation was still in the trash. She couldn’t blame Declan, really, could she?
She dropped to her bed and opened her laptop. She needed to find a song to drown out the one playing over and over in her head.
CHAPTER4
Declan walked up the steps to Evan and Meghan’s house. He stood for a minute on the porch and listened to the noise inside the house, made by his niece Nicole and nephew Tristan probably driving their parents crazy. He adored the kids, and they loved him. And Evan was right, he hadn’t been around much lately, and really had no excuse for it.
Evan and Meghan hadn’t had to settle here in Aspen. Declan and Evan’s mom and dad had moved to Arizona, wanting to get away from the cold after moving here for Declan so he could practice with the best coaches. Evan had fallen in love with Meghan and they’d settled here with their kids. Declan was trying to get the kids into skating—either hockey or figure—but Meghan protested they were still too young, and Evan didn’t want them becoming obsessed with it like Declan had.
He balanced the grocery store pie in one hand and rang the bell with the other.
“Uncle Declan!”
He heard the shriek through the door, unsure who had screeched it, and the door was flung open. He bobbled the pie, only to have it rescued by Meghan as Nicole and Tristan threw themselves at him.
“I thought skaters had better balance,” Meghan said, holding the pie above her children’s heads. “Thanks, Deck. You didn’t have to bring anything.”
“Then Evan would have told Mom and I would have gotten a call.” His hand on each child’s head, he leaned forward to kiss her cheek.
“That wouldn’t be the worst thing, would it?” Evan asked, appearing in the hall as Declan stiff-leg-walked his way into the house, a child attached to each side, and closed the door behind him, before crouching to hug his niece and nephew, conscious to hold his balance on the balls of his feet.
“Man, the two of you have grown a foot each!”
“Uncle Declan, we haven’t!”
“Sure you have, but isn’t it hard to find three shoes that match?”
Nicole, the older one, pulled back and frowned, then understanding crossed her face and she laughed.
“I don’t get it,” Tristan said.
“Another foot?” Nicole picked up her foot and tapped it.
Tristan twisted around to look behind him.
“I’m kidding, little man,” Declan said, tapping Tristan’s jaw lightly with his fist before pushing to his feet, a feat a little harder than it used to be. He looked up at Meghan. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Dinner’s on the table.” She motioned with her head for him to follow the way to the kitchen.
“So what’s for dinner?” he asked. “Smells like garlic bread?”
“Lasagna. Isn’t that your favorite, Uncle Declan?” Nicole asked.
He may have said that once upon a time, but it was nice that they remembered. “Absolutely.”
He was used to eating alone, so the noise of the family meal took some getting used to, especially since Tristan and Nicole both wanted to talk to him at the same time, tell him about school—Tristan in kindergarten and Nicole in second grade, their school year just a few days old.
“And this year I’m playing soccer!” Tristan announced.
Declan glanced over at his brother. “Soccer? Not hockey?”
